Wrong right again
by Blahsblah2001
Summary: When Goku finds the reincarnations of his old freinds, they remember nothing of him... or each other. Hauntingly familiar scenes replay themselves, leading one to wonder... shounen ai, yaoi
1. and time again

This story is dedicated to SF, because I came up with Pretty Much the Whole Thing by reading her story, And Time Again. Which is super- awesome, by the way.

* * *

The river had been flowing for years. It flowed by, sparkling in the sunlight, as humans and demons together played on it's shores.

It flowed by, not heeding the blood in it's crystal waters as the demons turned on the humans and the humans turned back.

It was almost dry the year Gyumaoh returned to life, but it ran swollen with flood waters when his army swept over the countryside, burning and killing all in it's path.

It brought clean water both to the demons camped in what used to be human cities and to the humans themselves, hidden away in the forests and mountains, and underground.

And so, for thirty years, the river flowed, impassive, as power changed hands and war was waged for nothing more than the vague idea of honor.

It flowed as two humans, ordinary in every way, were born and raised. They played in it's water in the few times it was safe enough to leave the tunnels. It flowed by them as they sat on the shores, hidden from the skies and surrounding areas, watching the water move and expressing words of love.

The woman drunk from it's pure springs as her womb swelled with life, and it heard the baby's first cries, almost drowned out by the screams of her people as the demons stormed the caves, killing all in their way.

It watched the few survivors splash across it's width, to a deeper cave where they would be safe.

But still it could hear the child cry, loud enough to bring the attackers upon it's parents.

Impassivly, it heard the new mother's silent moans of sorrow as the father cast the screaming child into the river. It should have been enough to save them.

The river again ran red, blood, so much blood, mixing with the pure, clear water, rejoining it, so, miles downriver, the water ran pure once again.

It was in this pure water that more humans came across a blanket- wrapped infant, with eyes as purple as amethyst and hair like the shining sun.

* * *

_Twenty years later_

…_give or take _

_

* * *

_

"… too long, we have been repressed! Too long, we have lived in fear of the demons! And why? Because-"

Purple eyes regarded the speaker with a look just short of distain. Another hotshot trying to stir up trouble. Like anything would ever change. Humans, as far as he was concerned, had always lived underground, and probably always would. The demons were in charge for one reason: They were stronger.

But he might as well listen, it's not as if he had anything much better to do. It was either listen to this upstart try to rile up his friends in the main room, or go back to his own room and stare at a wall. In the dark.

Now this guy was saying something about a raid on the main castle. At night. What a joke. Demons couldn't see well at night, but humans couldn't see at all. So their element of surprise was gone either way.

Other men in the common room spoke up with concerns, complaints, but this guy seemed to have an answer to all of them.

By the time Kouryuu finally got sick of these idiots planning their own deaths, they had already picked a date, namely, that night. They were combing the crowd, looking for anyone who had a weapon or any kind of fighting skills. Kouryuu had both, and so made himself scarce.

Back in his room, he pulled the gun from it's hiding place inside the wall. He could keep it a secret because he had his own room. Why? Because he had gotten really sick of being around people and had dug one. Anyone who didn't like it was free to come and get his ass handed to him.

Back to the gun.

It wasn't exactly a good one. It was a hundred years old, by the looks of it. But his foster father had left it with him when he died, and it meant something to Kouryuu. Mostly because the old man was the only other human he could put up with for more then an hour without feeling some terribly violent urges.

"Yo."

There was a knock on his door, and he audibly clicked a round into place, his blond hair falling into his face as he turned to face the man who had disturbed him.

"You're Kouryuu, right?"

"Who wants to know?"

"I do."

"What do you need?"

"I've heard it said that you can fight."

"And?"

The man's green eyes looked very serious behind his dark hair.

"Have you heard of the raid that's happening tonight?"

"You mean the mass suicide? Yeah, I may have."

"I take it that means you're not coming."

"You'd be right. Any other stupid questions or will you be leaving now?"

"I'll go. But you really should come, you know. Not many of these others can fight at all."

"Great. Have them write that on the tombstones."

Kouryuu turned away, done with the conversation. But the other man stayed in the doorway.

"You don't like it down here, do you?"

"What was your first clue? I have no debt to these people and no need for glory."

"Well, it seems your mind's made up. But ask yourself, if dying -in possibly the only interesting event that will ever happen here- is worse than dying slowly down here, staring at blackness and hating your lot in life."

Kouryuu said nothing, focusing all his mental power on the slight weight of the gun in his hands. Behind him, the other man smiled a bit, and turned to leave.

"We're leaving just after sunset."

_And I won't be there. _

_

* * *

_

This… isn't how it was supposed to be.

This's wrong.

A pair of golden eyes stared at the bare walls around them, for the second time in a life that was almost cruelly extended.

If the demons could have killed Gymaoh all along… why did we have to try?

Why Nataku?

Why us?

Why… Sanzo?

The familiar face brought a flash of a less familiar face, blonde hair, deep purple eyes… he could barely remember Sanzo any better than he had remembered Konzen. Just the sparkle of gold, purple… the last time he had come to the conclusion that the face he remembered had been the sun. What would he think now?

After five hundred years here, would Sanzo be nothing but a weak yearning?

Maybe this time he would fall in love with the incandescent lightbulb buzzing annoyingly just beyond the bars.

God, what a fate _that_ would be.

Sounds echoed down the dim hallway outside, something that might have been an alarm.

Another uprising, maybe. Demon power switched hands as fast as notebooks in a schoolyard game of keep-away.

Two demons walked leisurely down the hall toward him, laughing at some private joke. He knew better than to ask them to stop. They wouldn't, except to maybe throw something at him or laugh at the trapped monkey.

It was exceedingly cruel, the way Gyokumen had had him trapped. Actually, the cell itself was probably Nii Jiyani's design, but it was undoubtedly Gyokumen's idea, and for that reason he gave her all the credit.

The way out was simple, put a number into a keypad. Goku even knew what the number was. 28076002275947.

The only problem was that the keypad was a good fifteen feet away. In the fifty years he'd been here, the boy had tried everything possible to get the number in. Fifty years is a long time, and he'd had a lot of oppurtunites. Maybe if he still had nyoibo, he could have done something, but he didn't.

He didn't have anything anymore.

* * *

"Why are you here?"

"Oh, come on, big brother! You didn't think I was gonna let you have all the fun?"

"This is not fun! What were you thinking?"

The twelve year old grinned up at his older brother, with the carefree smile he had no doubt learned from the latter. His light brown hair was in his eyes, as usual, making him look older than he was.

"Won't you let me come, Oniisan?"

"No! Come on, I'm taking you back-"

"Oh, come on! You never let me do anything fun-"

The boy's protests were cut off by the sound of a yell.

Hakkai turned to see two demons directly in front of where their group was walking.

This was going to be so bad…

One demon turned, running back down the corridor. At first he thought it was running away from a fight, until an alarm sounded, accompanied by red flashing lights. And then there were demons behind them too.

It seemed they were going to kill some demons. That was what the humans had come for, after all. But now, armed with swords and knives of various lengths, they seemed grossly unprepared for the legions of youkai in that castle. But this wasn't a good time to bring that up.

And now he had a kid to look after, too, one that obviously didn't know what sort of danger he was in.

"Stay behind me."

Now that he had actually seen a demon, his brother nodded silently and slipped into place.

Hakkai just hoped he would be enough to protect his brother. And he sincerely doubted it.

* * *

"This is super- freaky."

"What?"

"I dunno, something about this place is just… freaky."

"You think we should go back?"

"Why bother? At this point-"

"Hush! You're gonna get us caught!"

The red- headed man shut his mouth, but his mind kept buzzing at him. What was that thing? That feeling you could only say in French?

Déjà vu. That's it. He was feeling déjà vu. He'd been here before… and that's just stupid, because there's no way he could have been inside the demon's castle before. I mean, come on. He still had all his limbs, which is proof enough.

But still, that feeling… It was worse than déjà vu. He had a horrible creeping feeling, like…

I died here.

The thought occurred to him at the same second bright red lights began to flash. Demons rushed into the rather large room the humans had been in the middle of sneaking through, and the sounds of an alarm were drowned out by screams. Gojyo grinned, summoning his weapon.

Maybe I'll die here again.

* * *

_Fifty years earlier_

_…give or take _

_

* * *

_

"This is _it_?"

"Not very original, as far as bases of operations go."

"Quit bitching. It makes less work for us."

"Yeah! We just go in there, mess some shit up, kill whoever's behind this, and then we go get some food. Right Sanzo?"

"Um… somehow I don't think it will be that simple, Goku."

"Why not?" A sudden thought occurred to the monkey. "I'm not gonna get done like Homura's deal again, right? Cuz that really really sucked."

"I'm not putting that damn limiter on you again. Break it this time and I'm just gonna shoot you."

Goku was quiet then, not because he was actually afraid for his life, just because…

_After this,_ he promised himself. _We take care of Gyumaoh, and then I'll ask him._

"What's wrong with you, monkey?"

"Don't call me monkey, ya cockroach!"

"Shut up!"

And in this festive and hopeful manner, the four heroes entered Houtou castle.

None of them would leave.

* * *

And, I give you all the first chapter! And, um, did I mention that there might be shounen- ai in this? I dunno if there will be or not. (Anybody wanna put in their opinions? I cater to reviewing fans, always have…)


	2. Invasion

I dunno if any of you guys are fans of Douglas Adams, but I seemed to have picked up his affinity for runon sentences. I'm trying to fix it, though.

* * *

Green eyes stared blankly at nothing. They were they eyes of a child, a child who would never see anything again.  
Above them, a demon, the child's killer, laughed at the helpless rage of another human. Red blood snaked in trails across the smooth linoleum of the passageway. They seemed to reach even in death for the young man now staring daggers at his brother's killer.  
"Bastard-" he growled, before charging at the unprepared demon. It's blue- grey eyes opened in shock at the unexpected attack. Most humans, after watching their friends killed would be in shock, able to do little other than stare.  
"What the hell?"  
The next demon came at Hakkai from the back, expecting an easy kill. What he actually got was a knife across the throat. His momentum propelled him out of the way, making room for two more attackers who similarly fell under the simple blade.  
More blood joined the splatters already on the floor, darker.  
When there were no more demons handy, Hakkai bent to the body of his younger brother, closing the bright green eyes. He thought of telling the boy that he would be avenged, but his words seemed useless in the hallway filled only with the dead.  
Actions speak louder than words, anyway.

* * *

"I guess being a half- breed has it's benefits after all," Gojyo quipped, shakujou disappearing from his hand to return to… well… wherever it is that thing comes from.  
"Now, where'd those other bastards run off to?"  
Now that he looked around, this room looked pretty important. Or it had been, anyway. Good- sized pieces of machinery littered the floor. Above him, catwalks criss- crossed the ceiling, but select few of them looked sturdy enough to walk on. Marks and gouges crossed the surfaces of most of the walls, and much of the machinery as well.  
"What the heck was all this stuff for?"  
Some kanji caught his red eyes, and he brushed off a layer of dust to read. Life, followed by something he couldn't read. Might have been containment. And a bunch of warning labels. But that wasn't what interested him.  
The slashes across many of the severed tubes… looked like shakujou's marks.  
But they, like everything else, were coated in dust. There's no way he could have caused them. Not this time anyway.  
So maybe he had been here before. Freakey. Speaking of freaky…  
"Yo! Where'd all you guys run off to?"  
His voice bounced off the metal walls, which still rung with the sounds of the alarm. The men that had been with Gojyo made no reply. Whether it was because they wouldn't or couldn't, he didn't know.  
"Crap."

* * *

"Shit. I didn't want to be here to begin with… where the hell did those fuckers go?"  
Koumyou was not a particularly eloquent man on a regular day, and the days occurrences were not helping his personality one bit.  
He stalked down some random hallway, wishing like hell the alarms would shut up. Not because they had betrayed them, or were bringing more demons out by the minute, no. They were just friggin annoying.  
And where the hell was he now? All these halls looked the same… like steel and pipes that hadn't been repaired in a long time. A lot of bars, too. Maybe this had been a prison block? Koumyou didn't care. There wasn't anyone here now, at least. And he hadn't come by here coming in. He turned a corner to be confronted with more hall.  
"This is bullshit."  
"Sanzo?"

* * *

Goku stared at the alarm opposite his cell. It should be going off. And it wasn't. The one down the hall was going off. He see it if her really tried. And the one around f the corner was definitely going off. But the one right in front of him remained dark and silent.  
Figured. There was one interesting thing happening in this castle, and another one wouldn't come for another fifty years, at least, and he was missing it.  
"Well this sucks," he said, sinking to the floor to stare dejectedly at the offending alarm.  
More sound came down the hallway, and a figure came into view.  
This figure was vaguely familiar… Konzen? No…  
"Sanzo?"  
The figure glanced at him, the expression on his face unmistakable. A wave of memories hit Goku in a second. Many of the memories of Sanzo's face were obscured by a good look into the barrel of a gun. But many more…  
His face in sharp relief as it was briefly illuminated by the flare of a match. A quiet calm seen only on the rare occasions where the monk was asleep instead of beaten into unconciousness. He hated people to see him sleep, more so when he was hurt. A calm, hidden smile when something Goku did struck him as funny. Goku saw these smiles, no matter how hard the other tried to hide them. Or, more commonly, the silent glare that promised death.  
-flashback-  
"Go."  
"But, what about you?"  
"Go, you stupid monkey, or I'll kill you myself.  
Another piece of the ceiling fell beside them, making Sanzo wince. Blood covered the floor, his blood, Goku's blood, Hakkai's blood… Gojyo hadn't made it this far. His last words, as well, had been to Goku. He made the monkey swear to avenge him.  
"Or I'll come back and kick your ass."  
"Like you could."  
But Gojyo hadn't said anything.  
Occasionally he wondered what had happened to kappa's body, but he didn't really want to know. No more than he wanted to know what happened to Hakkai's or Sanzo's.  
-end flashback- 

This was the face that Goku saw now.  
"Sanzo!"  
The familiar purple eyes looked at him with a cross between confusion and contempt. Exactly how he always had, once Goku thought about it.  
"Where… where've you been? I thought you were dead!"  
Instantly he was looking down the barrel of a gun again.  
"Who the hell are you?"  
"Son Goku. Remember? You gave me that name… or Konzen did."  
The gun clicked.  
"Why do you think you know me? And who's this Sanzo guy?"  
"I knew you… or another you… a long time ago." Goku slid out of the gun's line of fire.  
"Hey, can you let me outta here?"  
"No way in hell."  
"Come on! I've been here for fifty freakin' years!"  
"You're no older than I am, I'm not retarded."  
"So… you really don't remember anything at all?"  
"I remember everything I have use for. It's you that seems to be having a problem."  
"Trust me, Sanzo-"  
"Quit calling me that. My name's Kouryou."  
"But that- that used to be your name… after Konzen, before Genjyo… damn, you go through names awful fast."  
"You're not answering-"  
"Look out!"  
The demon came out of nowhere, looking like he'd already lost one fight today, and not preparing to lose another. Kouryou barely had time to turn before the demon was on top of him, tearing at anything he could.  
"Fuck- this-"  
A gunshot run through the halls. The sound was sure to bring more demons… If there were any left. Most of them had either been killed, or had just deserted the castle. Power was great so long as you didn't have to fight for it.  
Kouryou shoved the body of the demon away from him, staring at it like it was going to get back up and attack again. Which it wasn't, Goku suspected, unless it kept it's vital organs somewhere other than it's head.  
"They're going to keep coming, you know."  
"Wow, do you really think so? Thank you."  
"Can you take them all alone?"  
"Yes."  
"Really? How many rounds do you have?"  
"… What are you getting at?"  
"If you want to make it out of here alive, you're gonna need help."  
"And your point is?"  
"I can help you. Just let me oooout!"  
"… turn on me, and I'll shoot you."  
"Well, yeah. isn't that the way it's always been?"  
Goku recited the passcode on the door, and Kouryuu dutifully punched it in. The door slid open, and for the first time in fifty years, stepped out of the cell. Kouryou kept the gun trained on him, and so he didn't move any closer to the blond than was necessary.  
"Do you know the way out of here?"  
"Yeah… but we have to go somewhere first."

* * *

Aaaannnd, CUT! Alright, everybody, take five.  
Goku: Finally… I was getting claustrophobic in there.  
Hakkai: I would like to say, for the record, that this younger and Kannan did NOT have the same kind of relationship with me.  
Gojyo: Why the hell am I even in here? I'm just killing meaningless demons. What's with giving the stupid monkey all the attention?  
Sanzo: and why am I the only one with my old name?  
Me: (whacks them all with fan) Shut up! I'm doing my best! 


	3. memories

"Why the hell are we here?"  
"Because we have to find… oh, wait… um… well, Sanzo would want me to do this and whether or not you're still him.. I gotta do it."  
"Was that supposed to make sense?"  
Koumyou alternated between glaring at the strange brown- haired boy leading him through darkened passageways and glaring at whatever demons might be hiding in said shadows. The gun he kept in his hand, ready to blow the brains out of anything that attempted to invade his extensive personal space.  
"Yeah! Here it is… does this place look familiar at all?"  
The passage opened up into a rather large room, filled with broken machinery. Scorch marks decorated the walls. It had the look of a museum that had not been entered in a long time. In most places, dust and a bit of ash covered the ground. Someone had pushed a bit of it away, but they were nowhere to be seen.  
"No. I've never been here befo-"  
Kouryou stopped. What had he just seen? This same room, newer, the machinery spewing fluids and oil… but it was red, like blood had splashed across the walls. His own hand… raising in front of his vision. It, too, was covered in blood, dark blood, way too much blood to be just a wound…  
There was something very strange…  
"So you feel it too?"  
What the hell?

* * *

One more.  
And another.  
Was that one running toward me or away?  
Guess we'll never find out now…  
So many… it's surprising that there could be anyone left alive in this castle. How many had it been now?  
"What the hell is wrong with you?"  
Oh, don't you know? Didn't, now, I suppose…. You killed my brother. Don't you remember? You demons, any of you? My brother's dead and it's your fault.  
So you'll all have to die. There's no way around it, really.

* * *

It might be difficult for an onlooker to tell what color Hakkai's clothes were, originally. Demons bleed, you know. A lot. Particularly when you attack them at close range… like stabbing them with a hand knife as they rush at you.  
Quite a lot of blood.  
How many had it been now? A hundred? A thousand? Was there really any way to tell?  
An old folk tale crossed the blood- crazed man's mind, but he ignored it. Species, youkai or otherwise, was decidedly genetic.  
There's no way for a man to switch species, no matter how much blood he spills.  
"What have you done?"  
Hakkai turned his face to a new demon. There were no more behind him. Perhaps this demon was the last? Maybe there were no more left. Wouldn't that be interesting? Would it be worth it? A whole clan for a single boy.  
Now isn't that funny?

* * *

"So you feel it too?"  
"I don't feel anything."  
"Bullshit."  
"Gojyo?"  
"Yeah?" The red- headed man examined the boy who was staring back at him incredulously.  
"Sha Gojyo?"  
"Who wants to know?"  
"I found you!"  
Found? Oh, shit…  
"Look, if this is about your sister or… cousin or whatever… these things can't be helped, you know…"  
The brunette kid started to laugh, which Gojyo took to be a good sign.  
"You're exactly the same as you were!"  
"Um… do I know you, kid?"  
The kid was suddenly serious.  
"You should. Do you remember this room?"  
"Kind of."  
"This is bullshit. I don't know what sort of freak show you two have in mind, but I'm not interested."  
"Sanzo- wait-"  
"Look, kid, I don't know who you are. I wouldn't care if I did. And my name isn't Sanzo. It's Kouryou. Get it through your stupid monkey head."  
And he turned to leave.  
"How do you know I'm a monkey?"  
"What? Monkey is just a name."  
"Yeah, but it's my name. So why do you know it?"  
"I'm sure you said it at some point-"  
"Why? I hate that name. There's no reason for me to-"  
"Shut up!"  
"This rings some vague and slightly disturbing bell," Gojyo mused.  
"Maten and seitan. Do those ring a bell?"  
"No. Heaven and hell? I don't know."  
"What about Mt. Gogyo? The weird voice?"  
"Never heard of it, and only when I'm severely plastered."  
"What about River's Flow? A light above the water?"  
"So I was found in a river. Big deal."  
"So you remember that!"  
"Not really, me being a day old and all."  
"Oh." Goku looked crestfallen. "So you really don't remember anything at all?"  
"That's what I've been saying all along."  
He turned to leave one last time. Goku racked his brain for anything at all that would strike a nerve. What would the stupid monk remember? What was-"  
"The rain! When it rains you get all depressed for no reason, right?"  
Kouryou stopped, but didn't turn around.  
"That happens to a lot of people."  
"But especially you."  
But why? Sanzo had never told them why…  
"Because you can't fly your paper airplanes, right?"  
Goku stared at Gojyo and blinked.  
"How can you remember that when he can't? I barely even remember that!"  
"How the hell should I know? You're the all knowing ancient monkey!"  
"Don't call me monkey you stupid water sprite!"  
Gunshots echoed around the room, making both of them freeze.  
"Shut the hell up!"'  
Goku was struck with way more déjà vu than most people get in a lifetime.  
"Okay, so assume you're not totally insane and your rambling rings a bit of a bell. Now what?"  
"Well, first of all, we're getting you your name back."  
"This name is fine."  
"Genjo Sanzo's better."  
"Why?"  
"Have you ever heard of the Sanzos?"  
"No."  
"That's because they're all gone. The sutras are all here, somewhere. So no humans are required to protect them. So, no Sanzos. But since I think this castle's gonna be deserted-"  
"What are you basing this on?"  
"No one's passed here in the last half an hour. So there's less demons than before. They're probably still leaving. Anyway, humans will probably take it over and then the sutras will fall into the wrong hands-"  
"Wrong hands?"  
"Yes."  
" Alight, explain this to me very carefully. How exactly am I the right hands?"  
"I dunno. I didn't give them to you. But since Kanzeon Botsatsu didn't take the one you had away when she saw you, I guess she figured you were the right person too."  
"Not exactly. He was just the one who was most likely to cause havok with it."  
Three saucer- eyed faces turned to see the new speaker.

* * *

Hakkai fell to the ground, choking. Pain seared through his abdomen, and he was sure that some of his organs were never going to connected to his body again. Above him, the nameless demon laughed, licking a drop of blood off the blade of his sword. He said some words, rendered meaningless by the pain, and Hakkai felt more blood drip down into his back. Not that it mattered. He was pretty much bloodsoaked already.  
As if triggered by the crimson liquid, more waves of pain arced over his body, like electric currents. He would have screamed if he had been able to breathe. His muscles twitched spasmodically.  
And then it stopped. Thought was replaced by a nice white haze. The demon above him was killed, probably by his own hand, and then there was… nothing.

* * *

Well, since everybody else goes for Sanzo abuse, I figured I'd give him a break and hurt Hakkai. 

Hakkai: Thanks a lot.

Goku: This is gonna be a 53, right?

Melissa: Um... I guess so... I have problems with numbers.


	4. Kanzeon

W00t! Thank you everybody for the reviews… In the original journey to the west, the nyoi-bo was a big pillar of iron, which Goku could make shrink or grow at will. When he didn't need it, he shrunk it to smaller than a pin, and stuck it in his ear for safekeeping. That must have been hard on his neck, though, because no matter how big it was, the iron was said to weigh over a hundred tons. (Thus, Goku got to use it; no one else could lift it, let alone fight with it.)

* * *

'Um. Well that didn't go as planned.'  
Such were the last thoughts of a rather powerful demon as he fell under the claws of a being he himself had created.  
The youkai that used to be Hakkai sunk once again to the ground, hoping like hell that the squishy ropes he was clutching to his abdomen weren't really what he thought they were.  
Blood, not all his own, had pretty much soaked the floor, setting a red sheen over everything.  
Heck, not even most of it was his own.  
He could smell it, suddenly, his senses seemed… brighter somehow. He could hear things he'd never even thought of. He hesitantly reached one bloody hand up to his ear.  
It was easily three times as long as it had been. And pointed.  
"Shit… oh, shit…"  
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

* * *

In not exactly the reception s/he had expected, Kanzeon Botsatsu was unceremoniously bitch- slapped.  
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" the monkey king roared at hir. "I've been in a fucking CAGE for the last fifty years and you show up NOW?"  
With one finger pressed lightly to his diadem, the merciful god/dess pushed him away from her.  
"I've been working off a hangover. Get over yourself. You're immortal, after all."  
"That's not the point!"  
"Who's the babe?" Gojyo asked, not quite able to tear his eyes away from hir rather interesting apparrel.  
"She's a horrid bitch who comes and harasses us occasionally," Goku explained.  
"Hey! I've saved your asses on more than one occasion. Quit being ungrateful."  
"This is craziness. I don't have time for this."  
"Right. Um, if I remember correctly, I should have left nyoi-bo somewhere around…"  
Goku searched the ground in a corner for something that didn't appear to be there.  
"Ah, here it is."  
Goku picked something invisible off the floor, and immediately a familiar red- gold staff rested in his hands. He gave it a few test swirls, effectively demolishing a wall.  
"The sutras won't prove so easy to find," Kanzeon said off- handedly.  
"Yeah, yeah," Goku followed, not looking at her. "We don't need your help. We'll find them. How far could they have gone?"  
He froze. He didn't really want an answer to that question, but he knew Kanzeon was going to give him one.  
"Heaven."  
"See? They're safe. I'm not needed, so I'm leaving."  
"Not so fast, Konzen. Or, wait, I guess it's… shit, it's not Sanzo anymore either." The Merciful God/dess looked questioningly at her nephew. "What is your name now, anyway?"  
"What is it with you people and my name?"  
"Well, you just go through them so fast…" Kanzeon looked shocked for a second, as if s/he had just remembered something very important.  
"Crap! Um… you guys stay right here. I'll be right back."  
And she disappeared.  
"I vote on not waiting," Sanzo said, and finally walked off.  
"I second." Goku followed, the nyoi-bo disappearing from his hands.  
"Hey, wait… where-" Gojyo glanced at where the god/dess had just been and then to the two retreating backs and back again. Then he followed the two people that were actually there.  
"Hey, monkey, what've you got against her, anyway? She seemed-"  
"Yes, she does kinda seem, doesn't she? But she isn't."  
"Yeah, but still, with clothes like that she couldn't be-"  
"She has a dick, Gojyo. Get over it."  
Gojyo stopped dead in his tracks, one eye twitching slightly.  
I wasn't just thinking any of that. This can all be forgotten.  
"Hey wait up!"  
"Why are you following me?"

* * *

"Oh, damn… what a mess."  
Hakkai opened one eye. He couldn't see much, but it didn't really matter much at this point anyway.  
"You keep doing this… you must have some sort of trans- reincarnational masochistic streak. What are we going to do with you, Tenpou?"  
Was that his name? He really didn't think so, but bloodloss can do all sorts of funky stuff to your head. Why did he know that?  
Lots of questions… not many answers… heh, life is funny when it's almost over. He closed his eyes, a slight smile on his lips.  
"Oh, no. You aren't dying on me yet! If you die I'll have to chain the monkey up until all four of you can be together again, and I'm. Not. Doing. It.  
What about a monkey now? Some sort of flicker of a memory.. Maybe it had been his pet? A monkey that always wanted to be fed…  
Something splashed down into the blood next to him, and strong hands grasped his ravaged body.  
"Man, who the hell did you piss off this time? You never did know how to pick your fights, Tenpou. Here, this may sting a bit."  
Liquid fire spread outwards from the hands. If he screamed, he didn't register it. He wasn't really listening, anyway.  
"That oughta do it. Spontanious regeneration doesn't have the story- tale charm of having your guts shoved back in by your life partner… but it isn't as lame as dying, either."  
Life partner? What was this woman rambling on about? And why the hell wasn't he dead yet? Whatever she had done was tons worse than that demon's slashes.  
He raised one arm slightly, almost fearfully feeling the skin around her hands. It wasn't torn. It wasn't even scratched. Scarred, yes… but that would have… wait a minute.  
Clawed hands ran down the length of his abdomen.  
Nothing.  
Well, there was a hell of a gash, but at least his intestines weren't coming out anymore.  
So this woman, whoever she was… had healed him. For no apparent reason.  
"Um…"  
"Don't say anything. You probably won't remember me anyway. Oh, almost forgot. Keep these on."  
She stuck something to his left ear, and… something weird happened. Like having your whole body fall asleep at once.  
And then it was over.  
And she was gone.  
And…  
He didn't get to finish that thought.

* * *

"Jiroshin? Jiroshiiin!"  
The God/dess's bodyguard sighed. His mistress had been like a child ever since hir favorite 'entertainment' had died. And, being more or less unable to cause enough trouble by herself, s/he'd spent the last fifty years waiting for now, when the four of them would FINALLY be back together again.  
And now they weren't doing anything.  
Actually, they were doing quite a lot. Koumyou, from somewhere in his memory, discovered the secret of pulling the harisen from nowhere, and was back to his old pattern of beating Gojyo of Goku whenever they said anything.  
Goku was trying to convince Koumyou that they were meant to go find Sanzo's scriptures, and Koumyou was having none of it. Even if they had the same personality, they didn't have the same priorities.  
Gojyo was following the two of them, an ever- present cigarette hanging from his mouth. He was vaguely paying attention to what was being said, but mostly he was wondering how many people would be returning to the tunnels. His living depended on a fresh supply of suckers in the underground equivalent of bars. No one who'd met him before trusted him enough to play against him.  
And Hakkai? Hakkai was sleeping. Jiroshin thought he might slip into a coma for a while, but the god/dess would tear hir hair out if he did.  
Jiroshin was brought back to his present surroundings by a poke on the shoulder. He wished Kanzeon wouldn't do that.  
"Yes, Mistress?"  
"Where are those sutras anyway?"  
"I'm… not sure. Gyumaoh had them for a while, didn't he?"  
"Well, he obviously doesn't have them anymore. Maybe the sansbutsushin?"  
"I don't think they're going to be very willing to help us again. Not after the severe financial repercussions they endured last time."  
"Well, yeah, they gave my dear nephew a gold card. I still can't figure out what they were thinking."  
Kanzeon stared at hir lily pond, watching the figures beyond it weave bright patterns into the cloth of Fate.  
"Well, wherever they are I suppose we could trust our little heroes to find them, right?"  
Jiroshin nodded the tired assent of someone who knows it's pointless to argue.

* * *

"Koumyou?"  
"What do you want now?"  
"Where are we going?"  
"I'm going back to where I live. I don't have any idea where you're going, because you are NOT going to follow me the whole way."  
"But-"  
"Don't worry, monkey. You can crash with me."  
"Don't call me monkey, dammit! My name is Goku! GO-KU!"  
"Well, aren't you a smart little monkey."  
Koumyou kept walking as the two behind him dissolved into a fistfight. Unfortunately, when walking, getting into a fight gets you left behind, unlike being in jeep.  
Also unfortunately, they soon figured this out and continued to follow him.

* * *

How long can this LAST?

* * *

This chapter is dedicated to my main Emu out there. You know who you are.

Okay, dedication question: Here's how to play: Answer this right, and you get the next chapter dedicated to you!

What is different about Kanzeon Botsatsu in the manga/ anime?

Or, if you don't know that one, what's the difference betwen Maga Kenren and Anime Kenren?


	5. The last of four

Um, sorry about the last chapter getting uploaded twice. My life is kinda chaos-y right now. This chapter is dedicated to ChoHakkai941, for getting the answers right, and also to everybody else who pointed out my mistake.

Speaking of mistakes, I don't think I ever gave Hakkai's little brother a name. It was Satoshi, in case you were wondering.

* * *

"What the hell is all this?"

Koumyou grabbed a random passer- by.

"Haven't you heard? Houtou castle has been taken from the demons!"

"I know. I was just there. So why is everybody evacuating?"

"We're not evacuating. We're all moving up into the castle."

The boy scurried off to wherever he had been going, leaving Koumyou to wonder what the hell his people were thinking.

"What are they thinking? That castle's a deserted wreck!"

Not willing to admit the half- breed had echoed his own thoughts, Koumyou made do with just glaring at his two companions.

"Why do you keep following me? I swear, if you try to come into my room I'm going to shoot you."

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's always like that."

"YOU DON'T KNOW ME!" Koumyou avoided the two pairs of eyes. "I've never seen either of you, and if my future goes better than my past has, I never will again, either."

With that, he stormed off down a seemingly random tunnel. He'd find his way to where he wanted to go, eventually.

"He's always like that," Goku repeated.

"Ah, we'll see him again." Gojyo dismissed the blonde with a wave of his hand.

"How do you know?"

"Because once everybody's gone, these tunnels are going to fall into ruin. He'll either have to swallow his pride and come with the rest of the humans, or…"

"Or what?"

"He'll get crushed to death by mud in the next rainy season."

Goku took a moment to examine his memories. He decided that Gojyo was probably right. Sanzo was proud, but he was neither stupid nor suicidal.

"So what do we do until then?"

"I dunno about you, but I need a drink. And I'd be willing to bet that there's a bunch of happy guys buying rounds today. And by happy I mean smashed."

Goku smiled up at his old friend. Gojyo, it seemed, would never change.

"Can we get food?"

* * *

Three down.

* * *

It was, in fact, three days before Koumyou showed up in Houtou castle. No one was left behind in the tunnels. Mostly because they were dark, wet, and generally inhospitable. Houtou castle, on the other hand, was dark, wet, and inhospitable, but it had running water and also electricity. That made it better.

It was Goku who first saw him, and went running off to find Gojyo. The red-headed man was in the old informatory, which had been turned into a veritable hospital. The people left behind were working in shifts, watching over the wounded or comatose. Every once in a while someone would wake up, and that was good. But every once in a while, someone would die, and that was bad.

Life has a way of evening out like that.

"Gojyo! I just saw him! He's here in the castle."

The saru received a dull glance in return.

"Tell me in an hour, I'm off duty then."

"But this is important!"

"That guy over there just went into seizures and died, okay? Tell. Me. Later."

Not really looking to where Gojyo was pointing, the monkey nodded.

* * *

There was pain. There was a lot of pain. Hakkai's muscles were burning, making him wonder if maybe he hadn't had to fight for his life recently.

Memories came back in bits and pieces.

The attack on the demon castle. Satoshi's unexpected appearance.

Even more unexpected death. Not death. Murder.

The subsequent mass murder. That might have something to do with why he was so tired. Murder was quite tiring, when you really think about it…

Right. Moving on.

Then… the thousandth demon. Had he really killed a thousand? Didn't seem like that many.

But he had definitely done… something. Changed somehow. So maybe he had killed a thousand?

There was a bit less burning now, or he was getting used to it. His attention was drawn to a light tingle on his right ear.

Maybe it was missing?

Cautiously, he lifted a hand up to his face.

Somewhere along the line he figured out that he was lying down on something other than the linoleum he had passed out on.

And his ear wasn't missing, which was quite a relief. There were three metal clasps around the rim. Something told him he shouldn't move them.

Oh. So they were probably limiters. So he was a demon, then.

"Hey, this guy isn't dead!"

Oh, that's good.

He silently waved an invisible little flag. Hooray for our side.

That's either funny or sad. He couldn't decide which.

"Hey, man. You got a name?"

Poor bastard. He'd come back from the brink of death and how they were gonna interrogate him.

Hey…

Wait a minute…

Something red came into focus. There was an upside- down face hovering above his own. Red Thing's hair was long enough to be touching Hakkai's face.

Heh.

What's that feeling you can only say in French?

* * *

Deep green eyes slowly focused. That was good. When they didn't focus, it usually meant that their owner was letting go.

Gojyo didn't want this one to let go.

There wasn't really a reason for this, but he just… didn't.

"You got a name?"

There was a pause.

"Completely Screwed."

"Nice to meet you, Screwed. You have a lot of relatives in here today."

The man on the bed would have laughed, but pain wracking through his stomach stopped it. Of course it was. There was a gash across his whole abdomen. It was a wonder that the muscles survived enough to let him sit up. He would have one hell of a scar.

"My name's Hakkai."

Déjà vu. More of it. Dammit, where does all this shit some from?

"Gojyo, nice to meet you. Can you think?"

"…I think so."

"Wait, that came out wrong. Basically the only painkiller we've got right now is opium, so most of the people can't really think much when they wake up."

"Is that safe?"

"Probably not. But most of these poor bastards are done for anyway, so it doesn't matter much anyway."

"That's horribly cynical."

"Isn't it just?" Gojyo gave the brunette a wide smile. "Next question on the list: Any relatives we should contact? Anybody who'd care to know if you're alive?"

"Probably not."

Now that Satoshi's gone… there's no one to care…

"You neither, huh?"

Any response Hakkai could have given was cut off when a young man three or four beds down began to scream.

"Hold that thought."

The red was gone, and Hakkai was too tired to see where it had gone. Slightly disturbed that the strange lullaby didn't bother at him, he drifted once again into unconciousness.

* * *

"YOU DON'T KNOW ME!" 

Heh. That sounds so freakin' emo. I hate it when Sanzo's emo.


	6. That stupid voice

Okay, I looked it up. Sanzo's old name is Kouryuu. So that's what I'm gonna write it as from now on. Please pardon my previous dyslexia. (I don't get to name him, by the way, because Saiyuki and characters belong to Kazuya Minekura and not me. I also stole food names from the anime. I hope I spelled em right.)

* * *

"See. I told you he'd show up."

"You think we should go talk to him?"

"Do you think he still has that gun?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Okay. So what do we do?"

Gojyo considered. Goku watched Kouryuu. He was Sanzo, definitely. He even walked with Sanzo's arrogant strut. Right now he was talking to a man Goku had never seen before. Confirming Goku's assumptions, Kouryuu pulled out the Smith and Wesson, handing it to the man. The man looked over it for a second, then gave a thumbs- up sign. This seemed to please Kouryuu and they left together, walking off down one of the castle's passageways.

"Hey, they're moving. Let's go."

Weaving their way through the light crowd, they followed after the two men.

* * *

"These ought to do it for you."

A handful of shells were deposited into Kouryuu's hands. He expertly loaded a clip into the handgun, smirking as he slid them into place. They fit. Good.

"How many have you got?"

"As many as you want."

"What do you want for them?"

"Rough estimate, about fifty cents."

Kouryuu froze.

"That's some sort of catch, right?"

"Fifty cents would buy you one bullet. I just need you to use that one, for a specific purpose."

"So you need someone killed."

"Bingo."

"Who, and where can I find him?"

"Cho Hakkai. A real prettyboy. He's currently confined to the infirmatory."

Hakkai. Why does that ring a bell? Lots of stuff rung bells lately… something to do with that bakasaru.

"He got hurt real bad in the invasion, he's in the informatory, now. Easy kill for all of this, eh?"

"Do I want to know why you want him dead?"

"He's a murderer."

Ah, the cycle of revenge. No doubt this Hakkai had had his reason, but hell,Kouryuu had his reasons, too.

"Fine. You got a photo?"

"You'll know him. Brown hair, dark green eyes. He's got a huge gash across his stomach."

"Show me."

The man sighed.

"Fine."

* * *

Goku just stared. He hadn't meant to be eavesdropping… he really hadn't…

"What's he got against Hakkai?"

"You know Hakkai? Since when?"

"What's he got to do with anything?"

"There were four of us! Don't you remember? You, me Sanzo, and Hakkai. Plus Jiipu… he's probably with Hakkai."

"Look. I just saw Hakkai two hours ago and he didn't have any Jeep. We weren't even sure if he was gonna wake up. He's really fucked up."

What would happen if one of them died? They were all mortal… Goku knew that. Heroes or not, they could still be killed. And a lot easier than he would have liked to have thought.

"We have to stop Sanzo. If he kills Hakkai then…"

Then what? He wasn't sure, but it wouldn't be good.

* * *

I'm turning onto a freaking mercenary.

This isn't anything permanent. Just this one time. And then I go back to being-

Being what? A hermit. Fine. Good. Better than being surrounded by idiots twenty- four seven. Like this loser. Who the hell gives away ammo to somebody who'll kill for him?

Especially to kill_… this_.

The man Kouryuu saw on the makeshift bed wasn't even coherent. The man had been right, there was a huge gash across his stomach: It would be the easiest kill ever made in this castle.

And, for some reason, it just seemed wrong. Why did this guy need someone else to do his killing for him? The brunette was half dead already, not to mention sky- high.

And he had that déjà vu again. Maybe he had hit his head? There's no way he should feel this much déjà vu at once. He racked his memories trying to bring up anything he could on the monkey, the kappa, or this guy here.

Nothing. He hadn't known many people in his life, since his surrogate parents had passed away. There weren't that many faces to go through.

"Fine. I'll do it when there's less people here."

At the moment, feverish women and children were searching through the rows of cots and makeshift beds, searching for friends and family. It wouldn't do to pullout a gun and shoot someone in front of them.

"Take your time. He has no one left. He'll be here until he's well enough to move on his own."

"So I've got time."

"Plenty."

"When do I get the rounds?"

"As soon as he's dead."

As a guarantee, the man dropped a fistful of cartages into Kouryuu's hand.

"Come find me when it's done."

"What name do I look for?"

The man grinned a little.

"Call me Chin Yisou."

* * *

"Where the heck 'd they go?"

"Beats me. Probably to find Hakkai."

"We gotta stop Sanzo-"

"Yeah, yeah, monkey, we've been through this."

"Don't you care about him at all? After all, he was your-"

Goku froze. Maybe he shouldn't tell everything just yet. There were some things the womanizing kappa wasn't ready for yet. Last time it had taken the two of them three years together to figure it out.

Before that… he couldn't remember. Not much of his time in heaven stayed with him. It came and went, usually in flashes when horrid things happened to Sanzo or his limiter broke.

"It'll be fine."

"How," Goku asked slowly, "will this be fine?"

"If you remember Kouryuu, he was an awful jerk, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"But he wasn't evil."

"Not really."

"Then Hakkai's safe for now."

"Are you sure?"

"Would the Kouryuu you knew shoot an injured guy in front of a bunch of orphans?"

"… not unless he was provoked."

"So there you have it."

So then what are we gonna do?"

"If we move Hakkai, how long do you think it'll take Kouryuu to find him?"

"Considering the size of this castle…"

"Yeah?"

"And the fact thathe doesn't know many people…"

"Uh- huh?"

"I'd say about two weeks."

"Shit, that fast?"

"He doesn't mess around. It only took us two months last time, and we had most of China to look through."

"We'll just have to take a chance."

* * *

_No problem._

_Problem. _

_I'll just come back at night. There won't be anyone around. _

_This's wrong. _

_He'll probably be asleep anyway. _

_There's more happening here. _

_People who kill can't expect to be spared. _

_Karma sees to that. The endless cycle. _

_Endless cycle. Ironic. Heh. _

_There's more going on here. _

_Cho Gonou- _

_No, it's Cho Hakkai now. _

_Of course. It's always been Hakkai. _

_Must have been someone I used to know. _

_A long time ago… _

* * *

This ceiling's different. The other one was higher.

So… I guess I'm somewhere else?

Damn, my head hurts…

"'bout time you woke up."

Huh? Oh, wait, I know that voice… Gojyo?

Let's see if we can't manage a few words. Few sentences, even.

If I'm feeling industrious.

"Where…?"

I guess that'll do.

"This little patch of heaven-" there was a pause, and I imagine that the speaker was gesturing to his surroundings, "Is where I've been camping out for the last two weeks. You've been asleep most of that time. The drugs probably have something to do with that."

"Drugs?"

"Painkillers, mostly. You're almost off them by now though. You're lucky; you were unconscious through most of the withdrawal. You'll probably have a killer headache for a while, though."

Oh, good. I was worried for a minute there.

My stomach still burns a bit. There's a reason for that…

I run through a list of my memories. There was the invasion… that went well, didn't it? We seem to have won.

I wave the invisible flag again.

I get a glimpse of my hand, and I half- expect it to be covered in blood. It isn't.

Why? It should be. My hands had too much blood on them to ever be washed away.

Satoshi… even the blood I didn't spill I couldn't save, either. He was depending on me to keep him safe.

And I didn't.

Why not? There weren't even that many demons… why couldn't I have killed just that one? The one that killed by brother.

Memories of blood pour over my mind… I can even see it, still.

Blood, pouring over-

SMACK!

My eyes focus.

My face hurts. It didn't before.

It doesn't look like liquid anymore.

"Sorry. But you need to quit screaming."

It's… hair? Hair and eyes, the color of blood.

That's right. Gojyo has red hair. The color of taboo.

… screaming?

"You really need not to do that."

Oh. I didn't even realize I was making a sound.

"Sorry."

"Bad memories?"

I nod.

"Join the club."

I wonder if I can sit up. Maybe I should try.

God, does that sting.

But… at least I can do that little bit. Karma seems to have taken a break.

I should be dead.

And I'm not.

I should be.

I lean back against the headboard. Form here I can actually look at the man who appears to be my savior. His hair is obviously his most striking feature. It's closely followed by his eyes. I don't think I've ever seen eyes that beautiful on a man.

The chair he's sitting on is turned around backwards, making it hard to tell how tall he is. He looks like the kind of man who's grown up winning fights and probably expects to die losing one.

"You know how to play poker?"

For the first time I notice that there's at least three packs of cards scattered around the room, and at least as many cigarettes.

"Barely. I never was any good."

"I'll go easy on you. Since you're hurt and all."

The grin on his face tells me he won't at all. Doesn't matter. It's not like I have any money anyway.

* * *

Goku, figuring Hakkai and Gojyo would need time to find each other again, had opted to evacuate the room for a while. It's not like there wasn't anywhere else to stay. The castle was big, and pretty empty for the number of humans that were currently inhabiting it.

He made a bit of money doing the odd job, but basically he watched his old friends, made sure they didn't kill each other, and waited for something else to happen.

And it did.

"What the hell keeps calling me?"

Kouryuu slid into the seat opposite him. This was a bit unexpected. As far as Goku had known, the man had forgotten he existed.

"What are you doing here?"

The 'here' in question was a tavern operated in one of the basements. It was called 'under the table' both for it's location and for… various other reasons.

"I'm here because you're here."

The old Sanzo would never have said that. Not in the context Goku wanted it, anyway.

"Ever since you showed up and started yammering about our pasts, I've been hearing a weird voice. It sounds like you. And so I came to tell you to shut up."

"The voice again, huh?"

"What do you mean-"

"What can I getcha?"

The waitress snapped her bubble gum impatiently. Kouryuu leaned away from her, almost imperceptibly.

"Sukiyaki!" Goku said, with a bit more fervor than was appropriate. "And spring rolls."

"And you?" She gestured at Kouryuu with her pen, and he avoided it's threatening point.

"I'm not getting anything from this-"

"He wants shabu- shabu."

"Right."

And she was gone. Kouryuu glared at him.

"You're paying."

"I know."

"So what about this voice?"

"You always said it's how I told you how to find me. And how your master found you."

"Yeah, but how do I get it to stop?"

"I… do not know."

Kouryuu threw up his arms in frustration.

"Then what good are you?"

"I sort of tag along and do your fighting for you. Also, I'm stress relief."

"Stress relief?"

"Yeah. When you're pissed off you would generally smack me over the head with the harisen. I guess it made you feel better."

Kouryuu had to admit, that did sound nice.

"So what do you want from me now?"

Well, if that wasn't the question of the hour. The sutras were apparently missing. If not missing, they were at least safe enough not to cause any damage for a while.

The journey west was no longer necessary. They couldn't get much further west without learning to speak a new language. Not to mention that Gyumaoh was long dead.

So… what DID he want?

He could think of a few things he wanted from Kouryuu, but he didn't think he was likely ever to get them. He'd spent years with Sanzo and never quite gotten the courage to ask.

So he'd sat… waited… watched, quite a lot. He never got tired of watching his sun.

He probably never would.

"I want to stay with you."

Kouryuu said nothing, and Goku watched a tiny bit of realization dawn on his face.

"I loved you."

* * *

Wow, that was long. Alright, the next chapter's gonna have more Hakkai/Gojyo. I'd put it here, but this is too long already.

I switched POV's and tenses a lot in this chapter. I'm not sure if this is gonna work or not. I think maybe it'll get a better feel of what's going on... yes? No?


	7. First kiss, again

Ooh! I just got reload six. Sanzo has nightmares and Gajyo has to hold him down. They're both shirtless, too. How is that NOT inspiring? I would think it would be Hakkai that got nightmares, though.  
This chapter's dedicated to Internal Chaos, by the way. Distributes pocky

* * *

_"I loved you."_  
Goku stared hard at the table. At least, he expected the Fan of Doom to come crashing down onto his head. There was also the possibility of being shot.  
But last time, he hadn't said anything, and he'd spent fifty years wishing he had.  
"I figured you might."  
No Fan of Doom. Definitely no gunshots.  
"What?"  
"Well, first of all, you've been following me around since I got here. There's something more than friendship there. Either you're a stalker, or you're looking for a lost love."  
So Kouryuu had known all along that Goku had been following him.  
And he hadn't done anything. At the very least, he should have taken a few potshots at the younger man.  
"I want you to tell me why I keep seeing things. Why this stupid voice keeps yammering nonsense at me. Tell me everything."  
Kouryuu's purple eyes met gold. They were darker this time, Goku noticed. Softer somehow.  
"Are you sure you want to know?"  
"If I didn't, I wouldn't have asked. Now spill."  
Goku considered.  
"I never really figured out a bunch of this stuff. But I guess it would have started with Kannan."  
"The goddess of love and mercy?"  
"Self-love, more like. She's a horrid bitch, but I can't tell the story without her. She's the one that decided I should stay with you. Forever, apparently."  
And so the story unfolded. Of heaven and Nataku, of Chang'an and it's high preist. The journey west, hindered by every demon with working limbs. The most important of which was-

* * *

Gojyo didn't pretend to know Hakkai. He didn't pretend to know what the man had done.  
But it sure gave him a lot of nightmares. And they were getting worse as time passed.  
It was almost frightening to know that behind the brunette's calm smile, such horrors were hiding.  
His nails left red lines down his forearms, over and over again. He didn't even know he was doing it.

* * *

_  
Who says there isn't pain in dreams? I feel pain.  
I can see blood. Is it mine? I'm not sure. It's someone's.  
Is there anyone else here?  
Or are they already dead?_

* * *

"Hakkai… cut it out! Goddammit… you're hurting yourself!"

* * *

_  
I can't move… I think there's someone on top of me. Is it them that's been hurting me? Have I been hurting them?  
It doesn't hurt anymore…_

* * *

Somehow, this was okay.  
Somehow, kissing Hakkai was okay.  
Hakkai had stopped struggling beneath him. The tension in his hands melted away.  
It occurred to Gojyo that he had that sort of effect on a lot of people. Generally, they were female, but…  
Somehow, this was okay.  
At least he wasn't trying to tear his arms open anymore. His fingers curled around Gojyo's own, which were keeping them pinned to the bed and securely apart.

* * *

Hakkai's eyes opened wide.

* * *

_  
Oh, shit.  
I think I might have just blown it._

* * *

I… don't think I went to sleep in quite this close company.  
Gojyo scrambles off me in quite a hurry. He looks quite upset.  
… shit, what exactly did I do?  
There's blood on my hands.  
Am I still dreaming?  
Who's blood? Mine?  
There's blood on my forearms. Scratches. Not deep enough to hurt much.  
Deep enough to bleed.

* * *

He won't look at me. He's busy with the blood on his hands and arms.  
I really don't want to know what conclusions he's coming to.  
And I don't want to say anything. Like he'd believe me.  
Who the hell goes around kissing guys in their sleep?  
If it were me in his position, I'd have kicked my ass by now.  
But he can't. He can't do anything.  
…shit, I think I just blew it.

* * *

"Did… did I hurt you?"  
"Huh?"  
Hakkai turned his bloody palms outward.  
"Is this yours?"  
"No."  
"I see."  
Hakkai was silent for a moment.  
"I'll get you a towel or something. Do you need bandages for your arms?"  
"No, thank you. They've already stopped bleeding."

* * *

He didn't ask for an explanation. I didn't really want to give him one.  
Maybe it would end up alright after all.

* * *

"It's okay, really."  
Gojyo ran the bloodied towels under the water, watching the pristine liquid turn a dull pink.  
"It's not. I shouldn't have…"  
"Gojyo-"  
"It won't happen again. Trust me. I don't want you afraid to sleep in here or anything dumb like that. It won't happen again."  
Hakkai studied his hands, more for somewhere to look than anything else.  
"If you change your mind-"  
Gojyo braced for a threat he knew the brunette would be able to back up, eventually.  
"Wake me up first. Alright?"  
Not exactly what he expected. Hakkai gave him a wide, disarming smile.  
"Sure."

Somehow, it was all okay.

* * *

"This is taking too damn long!"  
Yisou punched a metal wall, which surprisingly did more damage to the wall then his hand.  
"Should have just killed that bastard myself."  
Probably would have been easier, too.  
But he didn't need any extra attention just now. Imagine the sort of reception he would have if the humans discovered that his right earring was actually a power limiter.  
No, that would not go over well at all.  
But if Kouryuu wasn't going to come through for him, he would have no choice but to do it himself.  
Or…  
Maybe…  
He grinned to himself, remembering a line from some movie he'd seen somewhere.  
There are fates so much worse than death.

* * *

"And I was stuck there for a friggin' long time," Goku concluded. That had taken longer than he'd thought. Dinner had come and gone, and the waitress had long since stopped giving them the death glare. They were gonna be there all night.  
"You get stuck a lot."  
"Shut up!" He was only locked up because he couldn't be killed. That he'd figured out on his own, a long time ago. "Anyway, it's only when you do somethin' dumb like getting killed."

* * *

"Ooh, smart monkey. He's figured it out."  
"It's not that hard, mistress."  
"Well, he's not that bright."

* * *

"Then I won't get killed anymore."  
Heh. Easier said then done. Speaking of killed-  
"So what about Hakkai?"  
"What about him?"  
"Are you still gonna kill him?"  
"Probably not. He disappeared right after I-" Kouryuu froze. "You… wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you."  
It wasn't a question.  
"I… may have."  
"Stupid monkey."  
"Don't call me a monkey!"  
"You are a monkey."  
"I am not!"  
"Yes, you are. Where'd you put him?"  
"I'm not telling."  
"Yes, you are. Come on."  
He grabbed the younger man by the back of the shirt, all but dragging him out of the tavern.  
"I'm not telling you yet."  
"And I'm not leaving you alone until you do."  
"What if I don't tell you ever?"  
"Then I'll stay forever."  
This seemed slightly appealing to Goku until the Fan of Doom made it's appearance.  
"Ow! Owowowowww! Fine! Quit hitting me and I'll take you in the morning."  
"It is morning."  
"No it's not."  
"Yes, it is. It's a little past one."  
"That's still night. They're probably asleep."  
'They?"  
"Yeah, Hakkai and the guy he's staying with."  
"Gojyo?"  
"No!"  
"That's the no that means yes and you're trying to cover."  
"No it's not."  
"Yes it is. Come on."  
"Where are we going?"  
Goku freed his shirt from the other man, opting to walk beside him in a way that made it seem less like he was being kidnapped.  
"Back to my place."  
"I thought you were going to follow me forever."  
"I am. Except I'd rather go home. So you're coming with me."  
Well, that was alright then.

* * *

If anybody has requests, ideas, thoughts, complaints, comments, etc, I'd love to hear them right about now.


	8. Handkerchief on the doorknob

Whoo! Barely made the deadline! Happy pi day everyone! pi is 3.14, today is march 14... yeah

BTW I have a fetish with Goku's eyes. Gold eyes are just sexy. I give my fetish to Sanzo. It's good for him.

* * *

"Who's your roomie?"

"I don't have one."

"Why not?"

"See the gun?"

Goku gulped and admitted that he did. It was sort of hard to miss.

"Do you remember me now?"

"A bit. Maybe."

"What do you remember?"

Golden eyes… something else. Maybe the monkey's unrequited love hadn't been as far off as he thought.

"You still play poker?"

"I never did. You always beat me."

"I know."

Definitely something about the eyes.

"At least Hakkai isn't here. He'd beat anyone at any card game ever made."

"- and he'd always apologize for it."

"Yeah."

Goku paused a moment. As much as he'd love to have Kouryuu follow him, or vice versa, until the morning, it didn't appear that it was going to happen. There was only one bedroll in the room, and Kouryuu had infinite dibs.

"I'm going home. I'll meet you in the morning."

For one tense second he hoped maybe the blonde would let him stay. After all, it was rather easy for two people to share the same bed-

"Fine. I'll be here."

Easily slipping into the old habit of concealing disappointment, Goku slipped back out the door, leaving Kouryuu alone.

Alone and wishing, quietly, that he weren't.

* * *

"What took you so long?"

"It's eight in the morning. How early do you get up?"

Actually, Goku knocking had woken him up, but there wasn't any other way Kouryuu knew to open a conversation.

"Keh. Come on."

"First you have to swear."

"Swear what?"

"That you won't kill Hakkai."

"Fine."

"Say I swear."

"I swear."

Goku would have demanded the gun be turned over, but he knew better. Much better.

"Okay, come on. It's a floor below us."

"That close?"

"Well, yeah. You were one of the last people to come from the tunnels."

"So?"

"So, the last people to come over were mostly from poorer areas, you know…"

"Spit it out, monkey."

"You're sitting ten feet from the red light district."

"So he's close to me… why?"

"Do you remember Gojyo at ALL?"

Kouryuu reluctantly admitted that he did. The name roused within him a strong need to kill something.

Goku bounced down the stairs like a little kid.

"Come on, it's right…" he counted off doors. The residential areas were set up more or less like an apartment building. This area had probably been used as barracks or something.

"Here! Oh, wait, I have a key…"

Goku rummaged through his pockets.

"There's a handkerchief tied around the door. Doesn't that mean he's got some chick in there?"

"Oh, no, he keeps that there all the time. It saves him the trouble of taking it off in the morning. It only applies after eleven. Oh, here it is."

Goku triumphantly held out a tarnished key.

* * *

Hakkai's head tilted slightly, listening. It was kind of hard when there was a tongue tracing the curve of his ear. And certain other things were making it a bit hard to concentrate.

"Did you just hear-"

"What?"

"Nevermind. Go back to-"

The door swung open, and there was a few seconds of silence.

* * *

"The handkerchief is there for a reason," Gojyo said, annoyed at the disruption.

"What reason? You've got a chick in here? Hate to break it to you Gojyo, but that isn't-"

"You brought Kouryuu here?"

"Yeah. I made him swear not to kill anyone."

Hakkai was confused. And now that his body wasn't focusing on Gojyo anymore, the dull ache was returning.

"What's going on?"

Goku, returning to his natural habitat, was raiding the fridge. No one had noticed him cross the room, yet there he was.

"Oh! Introductions. Hakkai, this is Sanzo. He was gonna get paid to kill you, but now he's not gonna. Sanzo, this is Hakkai. And you know Gojyo. I think."

"I sorta remember you being straight."

"Oh, he was. Most of the time."

Everyone stared at Goku, who was searching for mustard now.

"What?"

"Yeah. Just be glad you had your clothes on this time. Last time, whoo, man, talk about embarrassing. We were out in the middle of the woods somewhere and you went swimming-"

"That's enough, monkey."

"It took you longer to get together last time though. Like four years."

"We were… together before?"

"Yeah. Don't worry. Neither of you ever acted really gay." Goku pointed over his shoulder at Kouryuu. "He would have shot you."

"Damn straight."

"So we were… together in the past?"

"Huh? Well, yeah. Didn't you know?"

"How would we have?"

"I dunno. Like, a feeling or something. Sorta like me an' Sanzo can hear each other think sometimes."

"Don't put me on their level. And quit calling me Sanzo."

Goku had made something vaguely resembling a sandwich. Rather, two pieces of bread were trying their hardest to keep an assortment of items together. Mostly, they were failing horribly. Mustard sneaked out the sides at every opportunity.

"So does anybody else remember anything yet?"

"No," said three voices in unison.

"Aw, come on. You guys suck."

"Hey, remember whose fridge you're raiding."

"Yeah, yeah."

"This is stupid."

"You can leave."

It seemed like something should happen right there, but nothing did. Kouryuu tried to avoid looking at everything at the same time and failed. Hakkai was thinking idly that life had been better ten minutes ago. Gojyo was wondering why just being around the blonde was making his pissed off.

Goku was totally focused on the last parts of his sandwich. Some things never change.

* * *

"Jiroshin, this isn't working."

"Forgive me for being relieved, mistress."

* * *

Okay… I think I can work from here… I have sorta half a plot, but really, ideas, comments, concerns…. Requests? Who wants to see Gojyo shirtless? Smiles over sea of raised hands


End file.
